ambiguous

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Block (1996) argued that "looks" (as in "That thing looks red to me") is ambiguous, as between an intentional or representational sense and a separable phenomenal sense, and he believes inversion cases show that the two sorts of looking can come apart.

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. adjective Open to more than one interpretation: an ambiguous reply.
  2. adjective Doubtful or uncertain: "The theatrical status of her frequently derided but constantly revived plays remained ambiguous” (Frank Rich).
  3. Syntax Note
    Synonyms: ambiguous, equivocal, obscure, recondite, abstruse, vague, cryptic, enigmatic
    These adjectives mean lacking clarity of meaning. Ambiguous indicates the presence of two or more possible meanings: Frustrated by ambiguous instructions, I was unable to assemble the toy.
    Something equivocal is unclear or misleading: "The polling had a complex and equivocal message for potential female candidates” (David S. Broder).
    Obscure implies lack of clarity of expression: Some say that Blake's style is obscure and complex.
    Recondite and abstruse connote the erudite obscurity of the scholar: "some recondite problem in historiography” (Walter Laqueur). The students avoided the professor's abstruse lectures.
    What is vague is expressed in indefinite form or reflects imprecision of thought: "Vague . . . forms of speech . . . have so long passed for mysteries of science” (John Locke).
    Cryptic suggests a sometimes deliberately puzzling terseness: The new insurance policy is full of cryptic terms.
    Something enigmatic is mysterious and puzzling: The biography struggles to make sense of the artist's enigmatic life.

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Examples

  • Then, too, what would happen to international relations if diplomats could no longer speak in ambiguous terms? —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VII No 3
  • Here the message was ambiguous, a room inherited rather than personally arranged. —  The Lighthouse
  • The feeling on board the ship was ambiguous -- a mixture of admiration, regret, and relief. —  2010 Odyssey Two
  • Block (1996) argued that "looks" (as in "That thing looks red to me") is ambiguous, as between an intentional or representational sense and a separable phenomenal sense, and he believes inversion cases show that the two sorts of looking can come apart. —  Representational Theories of Consciousness
  • Be ambiguous, my father always taught me. —  Enjoyment
 

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. From Latin ambiguus, uncertain, from ambigere, to go about : amb-, ambi-, around; see ambi- + agere, to drive; see ag- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin ambiguus, going about, changeable, doubtful, uncertain, from ambigere, go about, wander, doubt, from ambi-, around, + agere, drive, move: see agent.
 

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/æmˈbɪgjuəs/
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